Discouraging Mets' season not void of highlights

Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in franchise history. R.A. Dickey, the 37-year-old knuckleballer, won 20 games and is a contender for the Cy Young Award. ...

WILLIAM MONTGOMERY

Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in franchise history. R.A. Dickey, the 37-year-old knuckleballer, won 20 games and is a contender for the Cy Young Award. David Wright passed Ed Kranepool for first place on the team's all-time hits list. There were plenty of highlights for the Mets in 2012, but a second half collapse and the second-worst bullpen ERA in baseball soured what initially looked like was going to be a special season at Citi Field.

Santana was never quite the same after his no-hitter, a game in which he threw a career-high 134 pitches. In mid-August, he was shut down for the rest of the season with lower back inflammation. Wright had a terrific season at the plate, but youngsters Ike Davis and Lucas Duda struggled, as did veteran outfielders Jason Bay and Andres Torres.

The Times Herald-Record takes a look back on the season that was.

Ike Davis salvaged his season with a strong second half, as his 19 home runs after the all-star break were the second-most in the National League. Still, Davis was so bad in the first half that the Mets were rumored to be considering sending him back to Triple-A Buffalo. If he continues to play as he did in the second half, he's the perfect fit in the lineup as a left-handed compliment behind David Wright. However, if he reverts to his first half form (.201, 12 HR, 49 RBI in 81 games), the Mets might start looking at other options, including Lucas Duda, or a trade. Grade: C+

Daniel Murphy had a solid season as the Mets' everyday second baseman, hitting .322 at home and .308 with runners in scoring position. He had a career-high 40 doubles. His home run power, however, failed to develop. Of his six home runs, five were hit on the road. Defense wasn't his strong suit, either. Only one National League second baseman (Milwakuee's Rickie Weeks, 16) made more errors at second than did Murphy (15). Grade: B-

David Wright certainly cooled off in the second half. He hit .258 after the All-Star Game, as compared to his .351 average before the break. He did hit 12 of his 21 home runs at Citi Field and finished among the top eight in the NL in batting average, doubles, walks and on-base percentage. Wright made just 10 errors in the field and only Milwaukee's Aramis Ramirez was better with the glove among senior circuit regulars. Grade: A-

Losing Jose Reyes to the Marlins in free agency certainly meant an offensive decline at shortstop, but Ruben Tejada did a capable job in his first season as the full-time shortstop. Tejada hit .289, but he drew a mere 27 walks in 501 plate appearances and lacked power, hitting 25 doubles and one home run. He also lacked Reyes' speed. On the basepaths, Tejada stole four bases but was also caught four times. Grade: B-

The Mets couldn't have expected much offensively out of Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas, but a grand total of two home runs and 34 RBI between them was a huge hole in the lineup. Defensively, and this is largely attributable to Dickey's knuckleball, they combined for 26 passed balls. Kelly Shoppach, acquired from Boston in August, didn't exactly provide a spark, batting .203 with five extra base hits. Grade: C-

The opening day starting outfield of Jason Bay, Andres Torres and Lucas Duda was a major disappointment.

In 70 games, Bay batted .165 with eight home runs, two doubles and 20 RBI. Barring an offseason trade, he'll be here for a while. Bay is signed through 2014 at a cost of $33 million.

Torres, acquired from San Francisco in an offseason trade of Angel Pagan, batted .230 in 132 games. Pagan, on the other hand, led the National League with 15 triples and batted .288 and stole 29 bases in 154 games with the Giants.

Duda took a step back from his strong 2011 campaign in which he hit .292, got on base at a .370 clip and hit 10 home runs in 347 plate appearances. This year, Duda's average dropped 50 points and he became a defensive liability in right field. In late July, the Mets sent Duda to work out the kinks at Triple-A Buffalo.

The Mets' best outfielder was part-timer Scott Hairston, who was third on the team with 19 home runs and fifth with 54 RBI despite getting just 389 plate appearances. A free agent, Hairston is likely to draw interest from other teams this winter.

Rookie Kirk Nieuwenhuis had a strong six weeks to start the season, as he hit .325 with two homer runs and eight RBI through the end of April, but a slide through May and June resulted in his being assigned to Triple-A Buffalo midway through the season. Grade: D+

Other than Hairston, the bench wasn't anything special. Mike Baxter and Jordany Valdespin helped out in the outfield, and Ronny Cedeno and Justin Turner were fill-ins in the infield. Valdespin, who hit eight home runs in 202 plate appearances, might be the only one from this group to see an expanded role in 2013. Grade: C

R.A. Dickey was tremendous, winning 20 games and pitching five complete games, three of which were shutouts. The knuckleballer also walked just 56 batters in 233﻿2/3 innings. He led the NL in games started, innings pitched, complete games, shutouts and strikeouts (230).

Jonathan Niese proved to be worth the five-year $25 million investment the Mets gave him in the offseason, as he went 13-9 with a 3.40 ERA in 30 starts. As good as the young lefty was, he may be used as a trade chip if the Mets look to upgrade the outfield.

Dillon Gee took a step back from his 13-6 effort in 2011, going 6-7 in 17 starts. Gee's strikeout-to-walk ratio, however, was much improved, as he struck out an extra 1.6 batters per nine innings and walked 1.6 fewer when compared to 2011. Gee underwent season-ending surgery in July after a blot clot was discovered in his pitching shoulder, but should be able to return in 2013.

Rookie Matt Harvey impressed in 10 big-league starts, allowing 42 hits and 18 earned runs in 59﻿1/3 innings. He led the team with a 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

Zack Wheeler didn't reach the majors this year, but he can't be far away. The pitcher acquired in the Carlos Beltran trade was 12-8 with a 3.26 ERA and 148 strikeouts and 115 hits allowed in 116 innings pitched over 25 starts between Double and Triple-A.

If there was a low point for Mets starters, it was Miguel Batista, Jeremy Hefner and Collin McHugh getting roughed up in the handful of spot starts they received. Grade: B+

As good as the Mets' starters were in 2012, the bullpen was equally as bad.

Frank Francisco was a disaster as the closer, allowing 27 runs in 42﻿1/3 innings. He's signed through 2013, so he's likely to start 2013 as the closer.

Ramon Ramirez walked 39 batters in 63﻿2/3 innings. The best thing lefty specialist Tim Byrdak did before getting hurt was finding a home for a chicken he bought as a practical joke on Francisco.

Manny Acosta, Josh Edgin and Elvin Ramirez also struggled mightily.

Jon Rauch walked just 12 batters in 57﻿1/3 innings, but he allowed 12 home runs.

Bobby Parnell was the lone bright spot, going 5-4 with a 2.60 ERA and 59 strikeouts and 20 walks in 72 appearances. If he's not the closer of the future, Parnell, like Niese, could be dangled in a trade.

Grade: D

On July 8, the final game before the All-Star break, the Mets lost 7-0 to the hapless Cubs, a team that lost 101 games. The Mets fell to 46-40 and would lose 11 of their first 12 games in the second half of the season to fall out of the playoff race for good.

The second half became less a hope for October baseball than a look ahead to 2013.

With virtually no offensive production from the opening day outfielders and a mess of a bullpen, the Mets need to focus on improving those areas in the offseason.

If Dickey can come anywhere close to his 2012 performance, Santana returns to form and young pitchers like Harvey and Gee continue to build on their promise, the Mets could have one of the better rotations in the NL.

No matter what happens next season, the Mets can at least look forward to hosting the 2013 All-Star Game. Could it also be the first year for playoff baseball at Citi Field?

Final grade: C

1: hit for the cycle by Mets this season. Scott Hairston did it in an April 27 game at Colorado. The Rockies won the game, 18-9.

9: Number of times a Mets player or coach was ejected from a game. Manager Terry Collins got the boot three times.

40-40: David Wright (41) and Murphy (40) were one of three sets of teammates with at least 40 doubles apiece.

74: Number of wins this season. The Mets lost 88 games and finished 24 games out of first place.

260: runs allowed by the bullpen. The Mets were 26-70 in games in which the bullpen allowed at least one run. The Mets were outscored in the ninth inning, 83-50.

.338: Daniel Murphy's batting average in day games, tops among NL hitters with at least 200 day at-bats.

2013: The Mets open the 2013 season at 1:10 p.m. April 1 at home against San Diego.